Thunderbolt 2 to Display Port

displayportthunderbolt

I received a 2015 MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 2 ports. Can I use a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable?

According to Apple:

Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort . They have the same shape, but use different symbols on the cable and port. However, this port does support Mini DisplayPort for video output, so you can use a Mini DisplayPort cable to connect a Mini DisplayPort display.

It seems you can, but I have had trouble with Mac-related compatibility before, so I want to make sure.

Thank you.

Best Answer

I assume you want to use this with a DisplayPort compatible monitor:

  • Yes you can. As you quote:

However, [Thunderbolt 2] does support Mini DisplayPort for video output

This is definitely correct and I can confirm that this works on a similar machine. The cable you show should work as intended.

What doesn't work is using a Mini DisplayPort as Thunderbolt 2, e.g. for transferring data to a hard drive. But you want to use Thunderbolt 2 as a video output, which is one of the intended use-cases of TB2, similar to the newer TB3, USB-3 and USB 4 (which in theory equals TB 3) connectors.

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